To determine the opinions of parents concerning the relative merits of manuscript and cursive handwriting, an 11-question survey was made of 336 parents in a suburban California community. Results indicated that the majority of the 328 respondents preferred the use of manuscript writing in grades 1 and 2 but objected to its continued use through grade 6; they thought children were eager to learn cursive writing and preferred to use it in the intermediate grades. Generally, although most parents felt that they had received adequate handwriting instruction, they believed that "handwriting skills" had been neglected in schools in recent years. (JM)